Cranberry Fig Roast Pork loin makes for a perfect holiday dinner main dish. Serve with my cranberry orange risotto, roasted vegetables of choice and of course wine. Don't forget to save room for whatever you have planned for dessert.
I love a non-traditional holiday meal, but when I decided to make something more traditional I tend to stick to roast pork loin over a cooking a whole turkey. I've made a turkey once, and while it was good, I much prefer pork. Way less fuss and less cooking time.
Last year I made a gingerbread house layer cake with cranberry fig filling. I loved the combination the cranberry chutney with fig jam as the cake filling and I had a feeling it would be amazing with a roast pork loin.
I am not normally one for sweet with pork, I prefer salty, savory, but I now make an exception for this recipe. The tart cranberry chutney mixed with the fig jam goes perfectly with the pork roast. The pork is first seared on a cast iron pan then roasted in the oven to finish, the chutney, jam mixture added towards the end of roasting.
I slash the pork to help render the fat and get the top nice and crispy when searing and roasting. Once the pork has a nice sear, it finishes cooking in the oven.
The fig cranberry mixture gets added to the pork towards the end of roasting in the oven. You don't want to add it too early because the sugars in the jam and chutney would burn. You just want to add it as a glaze.
I always add more jam mixture to the pork once it is sliced. The risotto goes so well with the pork. You can make that while the pork is roasting. I love lightly steaming or lightly roasting haricot verts ( skinny green beans) for my vegetable to go with this recipe. Make whatever you like to go along with it. The pork is definitely the star of this show with the risotto as a strong supporting character.
Cranberry Fig Roast Pork Loin
Ingredients
- 6-10 lb pork loin roast, boneless
- 1-2 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1-2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 2-3 8 ounce jars Cranberry Chutney, 2-3 cups (or homemade)*
- 2-8 8 ounces Jars Fig Jam, 2-3 cups*
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 Deg F.
- 2. Mix together 1 jar of cranberry chutney and 1 jar of fig jam into a bowl. Heat in microwave one minute then stir together well. Set aside. (Use 2 jars of each if making 2 roasts/ 1 large roast cut in half.
- 3. Cut Pork Loin roast to fit cast iron pan. If its a very large roast, or serving a large amount of people, you may need to bake in two pans.
- 4. Slash fat on top of the pork loin in one inch squares in a criss cross pattern, cutting almost all the way through the fat but not into the pork meat, and season generously with salt and pepper.
- 5. Heat a seasoned cast iron pan on high ( or two pans) and let preheat for about 5-7 minutes or until very hot and smoking.
- 6. Sear the pork loin on all sides, about 2-3 minutes a side.
- 7. Keeping the fat side up, place the pork in the cast iron pan into the oven. Bake for 40 minutes. Check internal temperature. If at 130 Deg F, spoon half of the cranberry chutney fig jam mixture over the top and bake another 5-10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 140 Deg.
- 8. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes, removing from cast iron pan to cutting board or serving platter after 5 minutes. Keep the remaining half of the remaining fig cranberry mixture warm to spoon over slices once served.
- 9. When ready to serve slice the pork into 1 inch thick slices, spoon some of the reserved chutney jam mixture over the top. Serve with Cranberry Orange Risotto and any vegetable you like to round out the meal. I love slightly baked crisp haricot verts with slices almonds and pomegranate, seasoned with just salt and pepper. Rolls and a salad would also go well with this meal and of course don’t forget the wine! Enjoy!
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